Tracking employee hours is not only a safe way for managers to gauge where employees’ time is being spent. It also helps businesses understand labor costs, prepare for payroll, and increase employee productivity.
Whether time sheet software, spreadsheets, physical time clocks, or manual tracking- determine what works best for your small business by weighing the technology requirements, cost, legal compliance, and ease of use for your employees.
1. Time Tracking Software
Time tracking software eases the burden of logging employee hours, ensures your staff is compensated accurately, and assists in maintaining employee schedules.
You may be interested in the best time and attendance software that has a broad set of adaptable features. Or, read our guides to the best time tracking software and best time tracking apps to find one that suits your business’s requirements.
GPS Tracking Software
Monitoring your employees’ hours worked using GPS tracking software allows you to record their time and attendance from worksite to worksite.
ClockShark GPS tracking software
(Source: ClockShark)
GPS time tracking is simple for the employee, who can log their time from any device—such as a cellphone—while they are working in the field. Additionally, it is easy for business owners and managers who maintain the time sheets from the office as they can be reported directly to HR through the app.
Pricing can start as low as $3 per month, per user (plus a $10 monthly base fee), with a basic service like ClockShark. Most software of this type also charges a base fee per month and offers custom packages for any business size.
Check out our ClockShark review to learn more.
2. Manual Employee Time Tracking
Manual time tracking is as old as businesses themselves. Also known as pen-and-paper tracking, employees record their own time on a handwritten piece of paper. This method can lead to issues (such as time theft, accounting errors, payroll issues, and labor law violations) and is not recommended for small businesses.
Manual time tracking does not offer the accuracy and security of a software time and attendance solution. Even though this is a free method, the following are reasons to reconsider manual time tracking:
3. Spreadsheet Time Tracking
Spreadsheet time tracking utilizes a template on tools such as Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel. This is similar to manual time tracking, where the employee enters their time into a spreadsheet, but offers mathematical features to provide better accuracy. A spreadsheet can be shared online with managers and supervisors for time checking and approval.
Both Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel offer time sheet templates that automatically calculate total hours, regular hours, and overtime hours. They can also help track the efficiency and productivity of teams within your organization.
Once you purchase Google Workspace (as low as $6 per user, per month) or Microsoft 365 ($70–$100 per year), the spreadsheets and time tracking templates are free to use.
We offer a simple way to do this through free templates in our article on timecards and time sheets.
4. Physical Time Clocks
Businesses that need their on-site employees to “punch in”’ for their shifts or workday can benefit from using a physical time clock. You may use a wall-mounted or biometric time clock depending on your specific business needs.
We evaluated the best employee time clocks to help businesses find an option that fits their requirements.
Wall-mounted time clocks are suitable for businesses such as factories or warehouses. These typically have employees that are in-house and required to log their time when they arrive, leave for breaks or lunch, and leave for the day.
With a wall-mounted time clock, the company clearly understands the hours each employee physically worked, so it pays accordingly. A disadvantage is that this system only works for employees physically in an office or factory and does not account for remote employees. Wall-mounted time clocks can be purchased on Amazon or at most office supplies stores and can cost anywhere from $100 to upward of $1,000.
“Punching a clock” is a term used by businesses wherein employees physically log their time by punching a time sheet into a wall-mounted time clock.
Biometric tracking relies on certain biological features, such as a fingerprint scan or facial recognition, to track time.
This type of tracking verifies the employee’s identity and can prevent employees from buddy punching, which in turn, cuts down on time theft by reducing the chances of employees being paid for the time they did not work.
Biometric data is valuable to companies that may need to control access throughout their office or physically identify employees as they enter and leave a building. However, since biometric time clocks record specific data about employees, there are laws in place to regulate their use.
These time clocks can be purchased on Amazon and at most office supply stores. Prices range from $150 to $500 or more.
Reasons To Track Employee Hours
Along with payroll, compliance, and other direct benefits, time tracking also provides more intangible benefits for both employees and the business.
Accountability: Employees are held to the hours they work.
Security: Assurance that they are being paid based on their actual hours worked.
Clarity: Time tracking provides transparency about the tasks each worker performs.
Management: By tracking their time, employees can see where they are making progress and where improvements in their time management can be made.
Morale: Tracking employee time can reduce micromanagement and increase employee satisfaction.
Insight: Time tracking helps employees record the projects they are working on, insight into work behaviors and patterns, and their overall performance.
Accuracy: Time tracking delivers accurate information for a streamlined payroll process.
Independence: Time tracking allows employees to self-manage and understand their overall capacity and workload.
Bottom Line
Tracking employee hours is beneficial for both employers and employees. Accurate time tracking can save your business thousands of dollars by ensuring that you are only paying for the actual time your employees are working. Additionally, choosing the proper time and attendance method can mean the difference in legal compliance, efficient budgeting, reduced payroll errors, and increased employee performance.
This content was originally published here.
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